So Much Fun to be a Dog

I will never forget sitting in a friend's house one night when I was in high school.  We were watching, "All Dogs Go to Heaven."  Not the best movie, but ok.  While we were watching it, I said something that would haunt me the rest of my high school days.....

I said, "It would be so much fun to be a dog."  Laugh if you will, but I have to wonder if most people were honest, they'd say they have thought this at some point or....... maybe it is only me.  :  ) I mean think about it, no responsibilities, just playing, eating and sleeping. 

Now, of course I don't want to be a dog, it was just a thought I had in high school that I probably shouldn't have verbalized. : )  I think we all have those moments of looking back and thinking, "I ought not have said that."  It became a source of teasing for the rest of my high school days.

Well, today I am going to argue, that we should be more like dogs.  : )

We have a precious 2 year old 100 lb Golden Retriever named Sammy.  We got him from the rescue last summer.   Recently, we took him in for a trim and now he looks more like a Yellow Lab then a Golden Retriever (They took off a bit more than expected.)  He is still handsome, though.  Here is a picture of him before the trim. 

Isn't he such a handsome boy?!  He is very sweet. 

Since we got him from the rescue, he does have some abandonment issues.  So, he follows me around all the time.  He is seriously like my shadow.  As I go from room to room throughout our home, he follows me. When I go outside, he wants to go with me.  He loves to be with me, he loves to just be in my presence all the time. 

If only we were like that!  We need to be like a dog when it comes to the Lord.  We should desire His presence so intensely that we are constantly seeking Him, wanting to follow Him wherever He goes. We should want to be in His presence all the time. 

"You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."  Psalms 16:11


I want that! I want that all the time!  I want the path of life, fullness of joy, and the Lord's pleasures!  It only comes from being in His presence. 

"Refreshing comes from the presence of the Lord"  Acts 5:41

"My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."  Exodus 33:14

We all need refreshing.  Only Jesus can truly refresh our souls and give us rest. 

I said above that Sammy is like my shadow......  

 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High 
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty,
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."


Surely, He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence. 
He shall cover you with His feathers, 
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler, 
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor the destruction that lays waste at noonday.


A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look, 
And see the reward of the wicked.


Because you have made the Lord, 
who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near you dwelling;


For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.


Psalms 91:1-11

Such great and comforting truths in those verses. 

I want to encourage you to be like a dog today, desire to be with the Lord, in His presence.  Dwell with Him, be in His shadow.  In His presence you will find life, refreshment, rest, fullness of joy and comfort that only He can give.  I am now going to just bask in His presence and love.   Abide in His shadow today.....